From the Director
August 2009
As many of you know, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference was placed on hiatus this year because the national economy was in a tailspin. Registrations as of early January were down and it was clear the conference would risk losing a significant amount of money if it went forward.
In fact, the writers conference over the past five years has struggled to meet budget. The conference fees that people pay to attend have not come close to covering expenses. And while we have increased the number of people who come to the conference, fixed costs have kept profits illusory.
Since April we have been putting together a board of directors, which is raising money to help get SBWC back on track financially and to ensure a profitable future. The board and I are exploring the option of making the conference a nonprofit organization, which would allow us to seek grants from foundations and other nonprofit organizations.
We have signed contracts with the Hotel Mar Monte, on the beach in Santa Barbara, for both SBWC and the Weekend of Poetry next year. Most of our speakers for 2010 are lined up.
The good news is costs will be significantly less than they were at the DoubleTree, both for the conference and for those who stay at the hotel. One result of all of this, though, is the registration fees for next year will go up — an early-bird rate of $875 until March 1, and $995 thereafter. While I regret it, it is a necessary step to ensure that the conference can remain viable. Also, because the Hotel Mar Monte is smaller, we will limit registrations to 225 people.
I appreciate the support and encouragement I have received from so many of you, and I am optimistic and confident of the conference's future success.
See you in 2010!